Streamline Enhanced STAR renewal

Cathy Woodruff The Advocate

Published 12:01 am, Thursday, April 28, 2011

Since Sunday's Advocate column highlighted the plight of Bethlehem resident Joan Stowers, who is facing a $3,000 rise in her property taxes this year because the annual application to keep her Enhanced STAR tax exemption was filed late, I've heard from many readers who were outraged that this could happen so easily.

Stowers is among some 59 elderly Bethlehem homeowners -- and who knows how many more in other communities -- who stand to lose the exemption this year because a March 1 filing deadline was missed.

Among those I heard from were public officials, who agreed that the complexities of the renewal process and deadline are too onerous, given that a slipup can cause such extreme financial hardship for those seniors most in need of the assistance.

"I think a lot of good, decent, honest people get burned by the bureaucracy," said Albany Assemblyman Jack McEneny, a co-sponsor of a bill that would enable local governments to show more flexibility in accepting applications.

Long Islanders Steve Englebright, an Assembly Democrat, and Kenneth LaValle, a Senate Republican, have, for six years, sponsored the legislation, which seems to have drawn little interest or support from their colleagues.

The proposal isn't ideal. There are details that assessors and other knowledgeable folks tell me are impractical or impossible to implement.

But McEneny offered a list of alterations that would address those concerns, and Englebright stressed to me that he's not averse to revisions.

"I'd certainly be interested in breaking the logjam and getting to the root of the problem," he said. "I'm not hung up on the language of this particular legislation."

So, without further ado, I've got a few suggestions for state and local lawmakers, which include using some mechanisms already available.

Best case: The state Legislature should streamline the Enhanced STAR annual renewal process to provide for automatic verification by state income tax authorities, who can certify that homeowners who already receive the exemption still qualify.

This would protect elderly homeowners throughout New York in a consistent and ongoing way, while also reducing administrative burdens on local assessors.

Right now, individual seniors have to deliberately enroll in the state's Income Verification Program to authorize the state to notify local assessors that they qualify -- and I learned to my surprise that the Albany city assessor has refused to participate in the program. (More on that later).

Enacting a system for all Enhanced STAR recipients to have their income verified ought to be easier than ever, since the state is introducing a system that does just that for younger recipients of so-called Basic STAR exemptions. The household income limit for Basic STAR now is $500,000.

A possible quick local option: A provision in New York's Real Property Tax Law (Section 467, Subsection 8 for those who want to look it up) allows local governments to authorize assessors to accept senior exemption renewals after March 1 and up until the tax grievance date in May.

Because of the income guidelines, any homeowner who qualifies for a senior exemption also qualifies for Enhanced STAR. One downside is that this approach would leave out Enhanced STAR recipients with incomes above the senior exemption limit.

Still, Bethlehem Supervisor Sam Messina told me he'll ask the town attorney and assessor to examine this idea because of the help it could provide for some seniors, including Stowers.

Messina said town officials also plan to clarify the annual exemption forms and notifications sent to seniors and expand reminder efforts. He'll also encourage state lawmakers representing the town to support legislation to eliminate the need for annual renewals.

The existing Income Verification Program: This is already an option for seniors who want to protect themselves from missing the Enhanced STAR renewal deadline in future years.

With IVP, seniors can authorize income tax authorities to notify local assessors of their continuing eligibility.

In Albany, however, that hasn't been possible, and I hope a change will come quickly now.

Albany Assessor Keith McDonald told me he was unaware that municipalities cannot opt out of the program -- and he's still reluctant to participate.

McDonald's chief argument is that he has a better system for making sure that older residents get the senior and Enhanced STAR exemptions they are entitled to.

He said nobody who previously received the exemptions missed the renewal cutoff -- a sweeping claim that I cannot verify.

"We don't allow anybody who is a senior to miss a deadline," McDonald insisted. "I guarantee you. I physically go through them myself every year. The problem they have in the town of Bethlehem, we don't have that."

McDonald said 3,136 Albany homeowners now have the Enhanced STAR school tax exemption. Of those, 1,616 also receive the senior exemption, which also applies to municipal property taxes.

McDonald said he accepts a one-page senior exemption application for both exemptions.

Initially, he said this relieves seniors of the need to fill out a five-page form. He later corrected himself when I pointed out that the Enhanced STAR renewal application actually is two pages.

Still, McDonald said he would require senior exemption renewal forms from those enrolled in the Enhanced STAR eligibility verification, anyhow.

He pointed to data errors in the first lists distributed for the Basic STAR program this year.

"I've been dealing with the state for years. They never send anything out right," he said.

Well, yes, accuracy and efficiency certainly are essential ingredients to any income verification system -- but I'm unwilling to agree that the state cannot achieve that.

If it's worthwhile to establish tax exemptions that help lower-income seniors stay in their homes, it's certainly worth the effort to make sure they don't lose those benefits because of anyone's paperwork foul-ups.